"Lucia, Nicoletta. This is Mariko." He deliberately put his arm around Mariko's shoulders, wanting everyone watching them to know she was under his protection.
"Ricco, so good to see you," Lucia greeted.
He kissed both of her cheeks. She was always warm and soft. A good woman. He smiled at Nicoletta. "And you, tesoro, how are you doing?" He leaned down to brush both cheeks with his lips. Lightly. Making certain not to touch her anywhere else.
Nicoletta took a breath, but she didn't step back until he straightened, and when she did, she stepped to the very edge of the sidewalk. "I'm good."
Two words, but at least she spoke. Up until that moment, Ricco had never heard the teenager say a single word. She still didn't quite meet his eyes, but her head was up instead of down. Her hair was glossy and thick, a beautiful, shiny color, so black it was nearly blue where rays of the sun hit it. He wanted the world to know this girl was also under Ferraro protection. They would shield her fiercely from any trouble.
"It's so lovely to meet you, my dear," Lucia said, reaching with both hands for Mariko's. Her eyes were alive with true happiness. She smiled from Ricco to Mariko. "Nicoletta is a treasure to my husband, Amo, and me. She just took a job at the flower shop helping out Signora Vitale. Her grandson, Bruno, needs help. The shop is thriving but he can't make the arrangements and the deliveries, and they lost their helper."
Ricco sighed and glanced at the girl, who looked a little defiant. The Ferraros wanted her in school. The teen was extremely intelligent and needed to know that. She hadn't been to a school since her parents had died and she'd been given to her step-uncles.
Deliberately, Ricco turned his back just a little on Lucia, knowing that if he gave her visual cues, her maternal instincts would have her answering for Nicoletta, and that wasn't the best for the girl. The teen needed discipline and training. She needed to recover enough to face the world. Enough that she would have confidence in herself to do whatever was necessary to protect herself and those she loved.
"Nicoletta, I believe you gave your word to my family that you would go to school. Where in your plan, helping Lucia here and working at the flower shop, does that give you time to work with tutors to catch up with your education?"
Mariko, probably sensing the girl's discomfort, shifted slightly out from under the hand on her back, that one physical connection between them. He caught her hand, enveloping her smaller fingers and holding her still, although he kept his attention on the younger girl.
"Nicoletta?" he insisted when she remained silent, looking to Lucia to answer for her. He kept his voice low, but the note of authority couldn't be denied.
"I want to work," Nicoletta said, looking more scared than nervous. "I don't want to be a burden on Lucia and Amo."
"You could never be that," Lucia said immediately. "We love having you. We want you to think of our home as yours always."
Ricco heard the ring of truth in her voice and for a moment wondered if they'd made a terrible mistake. Amo and Lucia had suffered so much loss already. If they grew to love Nicoletta and she didn't return their feelings and left immediately, he didn't know how the couple would be able to cope with another loss.
"I know, Lucia," Nicoletta answered immediately. "I already think of you and Amo as my home, you've been so kind to me."
Listening to her voice, there was no mistaking that she meant every word, and deep inside, Ricco breathed a sigh of relief. Lucia and Amo were magic. The epitome of a loving couple going through life together. They were the perfect couple for a lost teen like Nicoletta.
"I still need an answer, tesoro. That you want to pull your weight with your family is admirable, but it doesn't tell me how you plan to keep up with your education." He was firm. Insistent. Nicoletta needed care, and gentle handling, but she also had to get an education. She needed her high school diploma and she had to catch up. She'd always feel inferior to others if she didn't, and she had enough trauma to contend with.
Nicoletta toed the crack in the sidewalk, staring down at it as though it might give her answers. "I'm doing four hours with a tutor in the morning before work," she said in a low voice. "After work, another two hours. Amo said he'd help me as well."
"Were the tutors vetted before they were hired?"
"Your family is doing that now," she mumbled.